


that hardtack glow

by AngelicSentinel



Series: almost, your kiss [12]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: F/M, Introspection, Kissing, date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-11-17 01:03:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11264724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelicSentinel/pseuds/AngelicSentinel
Summary: Aoko’ll never tell anyone, but she lives for these moments, when Kaito acts like he used to, when she feels like maybe he really does like her a little bit.





	1. teak and orange

**Author's Note:**

> **Kiss Prompt 11:** when one stops the kiss to whisper “I’m sorry, are you sure you-” and they answer by kissing them more  
>  **Kiss Prompt 19:** kisses meant to distract the other person from whatever they were intently doing

Kaito’s nervous; that’s unusual, Aoko thinks. He’s standing outside her house in a black suit, red waistcoat and cummerbund and tie. Well, maybe not that unusual; he’s just usually better at hiding it. She can see from the window he’s twisting his hands before he shoves them into a pocket and starts pacing. 

He’s asked her out again. Aoko doesn’t remember much of the last time, since drinking that sweet drink she’s certain now was alcohol, but she bites her lip, looking down at her dress. Hopefully, this one suits better, since he apparently likes his women more mature. It’s a Queen Anne neckline, done in lace, the palest shade of silver, covered with glimmering diamantes, necklace perfectly placed to draw attention to her cleavage. She bites her lip, pokes at her small bust. She knows she’s not really that desirable, but she likes this dress, loves the way it makes her feel, the cut on the top emphasizing what little bust she does have, a long slit up the side showcasing her nice leg. Her hair’s even up in a nice, braided chignon, and she’s wearing makeup. 

She feels…powerful. Like she could take on the world. 

She doesn’t think it’s anything serious. He probably needs her as a distraction again, for some plot she can’t figure out. Him and his tricks. She wobbles a little, unsteady as she’s unused to wearing heels, but the way each step clacks adds that much more to her confidence. 

Even so, she’s unprepared for the way Kaito’s eyes widen, the way heat creeps from his neck up to his face, the way his mouth drops open. He catches himself quickly, closing his mouth and looking away from her, petulant expression on his face. “Ahoko,” he says.

For once, it doesn’t make her angry. She doesn’t know if it’s the dress or his reaction to it. “Bakaito,” she replies, voice calm. “Are we going?”

“Y-yeah,” he says, shoving a bouquet of roses in her face and making her sneeze. What. He has Jii-san driving them, and the man gives her a soft smile as she sits down. 

The restaurant he takes her to is a fancy western kind, the kind it takes months to get a reservation to, and the dinner is strange. He keeps fidgeting, but the conversation is pleasant. The food is good, and she wonders why they’re here. Kaito doesn’t shed any light on the situation. She hasn’t had any blackouts, he hasn’t tried to ditch her, he’s fully attentive, he hasn’t lied to her yet. Yet he’s the one that asked _her_ out on this. She narrows her eyes. The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour, and he’s acting _weird_. Off script.

“What?” he says as she’s caught staring.

“Nothing,” she says, sticking her nose up in the air. But Kaito’s blushing again, tapping his fingers rapidly on the table.

They stay for dessert, and Kaito slides over to her, using his fork to feed her cheesecake. It’s an indirect kiss. She blushes, but she eats it anyway.

He’s not acting weird, he’s acting _suspicious_. Still, she lets him. She’ll never tell anyone, but she lives for these moments, when Kaito acts like he used to, when she feels like maybe he really does like her a little bit. 

It’s almost like they’re really a couple. 

It carries on until Jii drives them back, back to Aoko’s empty house. It isn’t even a heist night, but her father’s still at work. She can’t even bring herself to be disappointed. She’s just numb. She understands that work is important, but ever since her mother…well, since then, he’s spent his nights at work. 

Kaito walks her up to her door. It’s nice of him, even though he lives next door. “Thank you,” she says, sincere. “Aoko had a surprisingly nice time.”

“Was it really so surprising?” he asks. 

Aoko looks up. “Well, you didn’t ditch Aoko, Aoko didn’t end up unconscious, you paid attention to Aoko…it was weird,” she says. “It was nice.”

Kaito looks like she slapped him. “Ahoko, it was a _date_.”

Aoko tilts her head to the side, then shakes it. “Aoko didn’t know. It takes two people to agree to go on a date. Kaito just asked Aoko out somewhere. Bakaito brings Aoko to places all the time with ulterior motives. Aoko minds, but she’s usually just happy to be spending time with Kaito.” She looks down. “Aoko misses Kaito,” she says. The illeism makes it hurt a little less, but maybe it is time to grow up. She drops it. “I miss spending time with you,” she says. “You’re always busy these days.” Her eyes flicker to the side. “It’s like you’re leaving me behind.”

“Aoko,” Kaito says, licking his lips. He steps forward, expression intent. He doesn’t look like any Kaito Aoko knows. She steps back, bumping against the door. 

Kaito grips her hips, pulling her to him, flush. Her hands grip the fabric of the shoulders of his suit. He leans down, pausing for a moment, looking her in the eyes. She closes them, tilting her face up and a little to the side. 

She’s rewarded with a gentle press of lips, soft like the feathers of a baby bird. She grips his suit tighter, working her lips against his, pulling him closer. It’s chaste at first, but he pulls back to breathe, moving back almost immediately, mouth slightly open. 

After a long moment, he steps back, hands still cradling her hips. “Sorry,” he whispers, voice rough, _gone,_ “are you sure you want to–” and Aoko grabs him by the tie and pulls him back down to her lips, kissing him harder, tracing his lips with her tongue. 

He takes that as enthusiastic consent, and they’re both flushed and breathless by the time they have to pull away again to breathe. 

“Wow,” he says. “Aoko, I–”

“This doesn’t make everything okay,” Aoko says. “If you’re playing with me, you need to tell me.” She gives him the fiercest look she can muster. 

He scratches the back of his neck, starts fidgeting again. “I’m not playing with you. But ah, there is something I need to tell you. Just please listen,” he says, and it’s almost begging. “To the whole thing. I have my reasons, I tried to do it earlier, but,” he says, helpless. 

An answer to the reason he’s been so distant? He must have taken her out on the “date” to soften her opinion of him. “Aoko will listen. But it had better be good.”

“It is.”

“Tell me.”


	2. Nuclear Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People grieve in different ways, and this is his white-winged grief:

Aoko still can’t believe it sometimes, she thinks as she watches him.

Kid is what he was hiding. Kid is what changed him, irrevocably. Kid is what put the distance between them.

Kid is what brought him back.

And maybe she was angry at first. When he explained everything, absolutely everything, she was still angry. But this was _Kaito_. The boy that gave her a flower all those years ago. The boy she played in the dirt with, the one she’d shared nearly everything with, including her entire childhood. Laughter. Tears. Breakfasts and holidays and _life_. But the anger faded, as is its wont, and just left her tired.

Left her unsure.

How could she turn him in?

She had tried, even going so far as to talk to her father, but it took forever for him to make time for her. When it finally came time to talk to him, Aoko had lost her nerve.

What was the point? Kaito had been there for her even when her father hadn’t. Maybe it hadn’t been perfect, but it counted for a lot.

Kaito had been waiting for her that day when she came home, almost as if he’d expected her to come with squad cars, looking more solemn than she had ever seen him. She’d shaken her head; and he’d thanked her with tears in his eyes.

Kaito and tears. She couldn’t recall ever seeing him crying before, for all he’d tried to hide them from her.

She’d hated Kid so long to be bereft of that just left her hollow. But once she knew, it wasn’t hard to see the parallels. Kaito made fools of his classmates. Kid made fools of the task force. Both were fantastic magicians (not that she would tell him that) Both could be charming when they wanted to. Both had a penchant for getting into trouble (and getting out of it just as easily)

But once she knew, the wall he’d kept between them was just _gone._ That’s what amazed her. That was the best part.

She had her Kaito back, the one she’d grown up with. Sure, he’d changed a little, but he let her in. Included her. Gave her a choice of whether or not to help instead of just using her.

And the Clock Tower heist had been just for her, looking back. For _them_ , since neither one of them had wanted to see it go.

And finding out his reasons…It didn’t make it _okay_ , just easier to bear. She’d been there when Kuroba Touichi lost his life in a tragic accident. “Accident,” she found out, is far more apt. He needs someone to keep him grounded, or else he’ll lose himself.

So Aoko watches him as he works, in the little secret room he’d been delighted to show her. He’s adjusting his card gun, has it in pieces before him, tweaking it, quiet and serious in a way that she's never seen him, even before a prank.

It feels out-of-character, but maybe he’s changed. Kaito is Kid. He makes that choice every time he puts on the white mantle. It’s a life-changing experience, something they haven’t gone through together.

She has to accept that or lose him entirely.

People grieve in different ways, and this is his white-winged grief:

Magic under the moonlight.

A dark silhouette over a pale rabbit reflection.

Gems that glitter like stars, casting fire everywhere.

A hunt that might be futile, and finally, this:

She leans over as he works, gives him a kiss on the cheek to let him know that she’s still there for him. “Good luck tonight, Kaito,” she says.

He starts, startled, hand coming up to his cheek. She’s expecting him to say something like, ‘I don’t need luck,’ or some such nonsense, but instead he says, “You're wishing me luck?” It will be the first heist since she knows. He sounds bewildered.

“Mmhmm.”

“Will you be there?” Kaito asks, searching her eyes.

“Of course,” she says. “Aoko _hates_ the Kaitou Kid, after all. It would be suspicious if Aoko’s behaviour changed, and the anti-Kid signs are already painted.”

“Why?” he says after searching her eyes for a long moment. “Why are you so at ease with this?”

Aoko tilts her head. “Aoko’s father is too busy for Aoko. It makes it easy when there’s a reason. Besides Kaito is known for pranks and tricks, and this is just the biggest.” She bites the inside of her cheek. “And Aoko has never really minded Kaito’s tricks, so long as he leaves her skirt alone.”

“I can do that,” he says.

She narrows her eyes. “And Aoko’s father deserves to be pranked for ignoring Aoko’s wish to go to the festival with him, _and_ he missed Aoko’s birthday. Again.” There wasn’t even a big case or a heist, since Kaito had promised not to hold heists on important days anymore, unless it was time-sensitive. Her father had just lost track of time. But Kaito had celebrated with her this year, just the two of them, so it was better.

“I’ll be sure to do something extra special then, just for Aoko,” Kaito says, grinning. “We can’t have that, can we?” He stands, kissing her on top of the head. “Thanks, Aoko.”

* * *


End file.
